44 | Aros personal touch with every service Tony and Janette have run Aros Contracting with an ever-evolving team of staff and owner-drivers. Kelly Deeks Providing forage harvester services around Western Southland, Aros Silage Contracting has been building close relationships with clients, staff, and subcontractors for more than two decades, giving the company the edge when it comes to fulfilling the needs of its clients. A small family business owned by Tony and Janette Carmichael, Aros Contracting provides the personal touch with every service. “We are very close with our customers,” Tony says. “We don’t consider a new client a proper client until we’ve had them for three years and we know what their expectations are and what they require from us. It’s a relationship more than it is a contract. Tony says the contracting game is evolving as more and more farms have absentee owners. The contractor can’t take for granted that everything is ready to go without paying a visit first, checking the stack site, and finding out what the contract milker has planned for the season. “I’m checking in more than I used to because there are more and more absentee owners and contract milkers. We have to be a bit more proactive. Even when a regular client’s farm has been passed on to the next generation, they are effectively a new client for us.” Tony and Janette set up Aros Contracting in 2001, after splitting off the forage harvesting service from a family transport company in Riverton. Demand had grown quickly in the early days alongside the Southland dairy boom, and Aros Contracting was in the right place at the right time, providing the high quality, reliable service its customers needed. In today’s market, Tony thinks it would be all but impossible to set up as a contractor without significant financial backing. “I call my business a small family business but I priced a new forager a couple of months ago and it was just under $1 million. I’ve got $1.5 million of gear in my yard and when I built a shed near our house to put it in, my neighbour told me I had a million dollar view!” As they struggle to keep up with the cost of new and replacement machinery, smaller local contractors are now selling out to the big RURAL SERVICES » Aros Contracting Ltd companies. Tony can see a near future with four or five major contracting companies and only a smattering of smaller contractors doing silage and groundwork in their local area. Tony and Janette have run Aros Contracting with an ever-evolving team of staff and owner-drivers, even the successive owners of the same truck have come back to work for the couple. Janette drives a silage truck and acts as Tony’s eyes and ears when he’s not on the job, making sure the silage stacks are good and the workers are safe and happy. As a seasonal operation, all have other jobs to do in the winter, but while forage harvesting for Aros Contracting, they like Tony are always looking for the next opportunity to get the work done. “Having owner-drivers works really well,” 03 2182124 90 Leet Street, Invercargill sales@invercargilloilshop.co.nz At the Invercargill Oil Shop, we specialise in supplying a comprehensive range of Caltex lubricants tailored tomeet your vehicle andmachinery requirements. Our knowledgeable team is dedicated to helping customers select the perfect lubricant for optimal performance and longevity. Whether you're a car enthusiast, industrial operator, or leetmanager, we've got you covered! Tony says. “They’ve got an interest in their work, they are quality conscious, and if we have to push through some extra hours to get on to the next job they understand. We’ve achieved what we have with the great staff and subcontractors we’ve had over the years.”
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